Dharamshala: The Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM), NCERT, organized a two-day workshop on the 9th and 10th February for the coordinators of the State Level Science, Mathematics, Environment Exhibition and the representatives of other educational institutions at the DESM conference hall, New Delhi. Mr. Dorjee Wangdue, Science Education Officer of DoE, CTA, along with 30 other representatives from States, Union Territories, and experts from higher Educational institutes, were present during the workshop.

The two-day workshop aims to provide platforms for the participants to interact, share their experiences and insights, address the challenges, and brainstorm ideas to make the exhibitions popular among students and network with other professionals in similar fields.

During the workshop, DESM made an announcement of “National Junior Scientist Award” (NJSA) for budding scientists from schools to inculcate interest and creativity among learners and encourage them to carry out their research with the help of science teachers and faculty members from a higher education institution as their mentor.

The draft guidelines of the above award were discussed in detail on the second day of the workshop, and feedback/input was collected from the participants. The final guidelines of the award program will be published in May 2023.

The valedictory function was presided over by Prof Sunita Farkya, Director, DESM, Prof T.P Sharma, Programme Coordinator, and Dr. C.V Shimray, Assistant Professor in DESM, NCERT. During the collegial discussion, all the state and union territory coordinators reported on their state-level exhibitions, and Mr. Dorjee Wangdue from DoE also briefed about the CTA-level science exhibitions being held since 2017. He reported on the impact of the pandemic on the school academics and the challenges faced in organising the exhibitions. He also thanked NCERT for allowing CTA to participate in the national-level academic program for Tibetan children.

In 2022, three exhibits from Tibetan Schools were selected for the 49th (RBVP) National Science, Mathematics, and Environment Exhibition for Children. The selected exhibits were displayed at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra GUWAHATI from 22 – 27 November 2022.